WASHINGTON (CBSDC) – Former Redskin and Lorenzo Alexander made the case for his current Cardinals defensive coordinator Todd Bowles being a viable NFL head coaching candidate, but specified it takes a special person to hold down the fort in Washington.

“Very honest, upfront, very intuitive and innovative, as far as defense, and understanding how to get after people and changing things week to week,” said Alexander of Bowles to the Junkies on 106.7 The Fan on Friday.

“He’s very fiery,” he said. “He demands respect when he walks in the room. He demands a certain level of play, and he doesn’t care, I mean he’ll call you out if he needs to. It’s not disrespectful, but you know, you have to do that. You have to hold people accountable, and he does that at a high level.”

However, when asked off the top of his head who he’d pick as the next coach of the Washington Redskins, Alexander elected to go with a name from his not so distant past.

“Danny Smith,” Alexander said of the Steelers special teams coordinator, who held the same position for nine seasons in Washington.

“That’s who I would vote for,” Alexander said. “He would do a great job, I think Gregg Williams would have done a great job.”

But for Alexander, coaching in Washington isn’t simply about coaching, it’s also about getting along with management, something he says not everyone is prepared for.

“There’s a couple guys out there that have the ability,” he said. “But it’s gonna have to be somebody that, I think, understands what they’re walking into coming in here and knows how to create a great relationship with all the management.”

“I think that’s gonna be probably one of the struggles, whoever comes in,” he would add.